101 Must-Follow Black Entrepreneurs & Speakers in 2017

Ozwald Boateng

A post shared by Ozwald Boateng (@ozwald_boateng) on May 18, 2016 at 10:42pm PDT

Ozwald Boateng is an English fashion designer who was been noted for his impact on classic British tailoring and fashion design. Born to Ghanaian parents, Ozwald has been associated with providing wardrobes for popular celebrities such as Jason Statham, Will Smith, Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Bettany and Keanu Reeves. In 2006, he was awarded an O.B.E by the Queen of England for his services to the clothing industry. The same year, he also co-created Made in Africa, to bring African enterprises on the international platform.

Prince Ea

Prince Ea (real name Richard Williams) is an artist, poet, rapper and filmmaker. He was born and raised in Missouri, USA. Over the years, Prince Ea has garnered over 500 million views for his videos on Facebook and YouTube. Apart from his creative interests, he also indulges in giving inspirational lectures to high school/university students on topics of self-development and motivation.

Sophie and Melanie are the co-founders of the Black British Business Awards, a premium awards programme that recognises, rewards and celebrates exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black people in businesses operating in Great Britain.

Tina Wells

Tina Wells is the CEO and Founder of the Buzz Marketing Group, a leading agency for influencer marketing. She is also the author of marketing books such as Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right. Tina is currently the Academic Director of Wharton’s Leadership in the Business World Program, and also serves on the United Nation’s Global Entrepreneurship Council.

Tyra Banks is a famous American supermodel, television personality, actress, author, presenter and producer. Her best-known shows include the Tyra Banks Show and America’s Next Top Model. She is also the founder of TZONE, a foundation that works towards developing teen girls’ self-esteem and independence.

Rachel Sibande

Rachel Sibande is a black entrepreneur, who is responsible for launching the first tech-hub, mHub, in Malawi. Founded in 2013, the mHub works as an incubator for technology startups in Malawi with a special focus on helping young entrepreneurs through training and skill development.

Rachel Wang

Rachel Wang is the co-founder of Chocolate Films, a film production company started in 2001. Her aim behind creating Chocolate Films was to do away with the lack of representation of the full black British experience on the screen and to deliver high-quality content for commercial purposes. She has previously been named “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Black British Business Awards.

Renae Bluitt is the founder of Crush Media, a PR firm that represents brands like Eden Body Works and Vibrant Beauty. She is also the owner of In Her Shoes blog, where she narrates, highlights and celebrates the successful stories of African-American female entrepreneurs.

Samuel Malinga

Samuel Malinga is the Ugandan CEO and co-founder of Sanitation Africa Limited. In 2015, he was awarded the Tony Elumelu Prize for Business at the Future Africa Awards for inventing a full-cycle sanitation system. For his work, he was also shortlisted for the African Prize for Engineering Innovation, and was listed as one of Venture Africa’s “40 African Innovators to Watch“.

Sebastian Thiel in as award winning filmmaker, digital social entrepreneur and founder of Upshot Entertainment. Sebastian has filmed and worked with a number of high profile talents such as Dynamo the Magician, Westlife and brands such as Sony, Virgin Media & UKTV. He has featured on TEDx Talks, and was listed in the Top 25 Under 25 most influential Londoners by Evening Standard.

Sheila Johnson

Sheila Crump Johnson is a black entrepreneur and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), and the CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts. She is the first African-American to attain a wealth of $1 Billion, and is currently a part-owner of three sports teams in the NHL, the NBA and the WNBA. She is also a Global Ambassador for CARE, a non-profit organisation for fighting global poverty. In 2010, President Obama appointed her on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Lynn Rhimes is an American television producer, writer and author who is responsible for shows like ‘Scandal’ and ‘How to Get Away with Murder’. She is the first African-American woman to create and executive produce a top 10 network series – ‘Grey’s Anatomy‘.

Tiana Von Johnson is a serial black entrepreneur, brand strategist, motivational speaker, publisher, philanthropist and author. She is also the founder of ‘Women Doing It Big’, a conference that helps and motivates women entrepreneurs all over the world.

Tim Campbell

Timothy Campbell is the co-owner of Marketing Runners and the founder of Bright Ideas Trusts, which provides funding and mentoring for startups. He was awarded the MBE for Enterprise Culture in the 2012 New Year’s Honours List, and is also a former winner of the TV show ‘The Apprentice’.

Will.I.am

William Adams, better known as ‘Will.I.am‘, is a rapper, producer, DJ and entrepreneur. He was an investor in Beats Electronics, which was later sold to Apple for $ 3 billion. He is also the founder of i.am+, a wearable technology company.

Yvette Snowden

Yvette Snowden is a beauty entrepreneur and founder of Eve Snow, an award winning luxury nail lacquer company. Launched in 2013 with a focus on removing toxins and nourishing nails, the brand continues to have an ever growing global distribution network and is currently sold through over 100 retail doors in the UK.

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